When it comes to visiting Paris, there seem to be a few unspoken rules regarding being a perfect tourist: complain about the line at the Louvre, attempt to order your coffees in French, gasp at the interior of the Opéra Garnier, and give Paris a day off by heading outside of the town to Le Château Versailles, the Palace of Versailles. For anything less than a 5-day trip to the “City of Lights,” we’d stick to the city and its Art Nouveau and gateaux, but longer visits necessitate the break from Paris that Versailles affords.

Forget the parks of Paris; they are only good for gossipy walks with a friend and a cafe au lait. Once you alight at Versailles and clear the tour bus exhaust, there is the welcoming scent of freshly-cut grass wafting from the palace’s 250 acres of manicured gardens. Strolling through curl-i-cues of shrubbery and down lanes of topiaries remind one why it’s worthwhile to endure transatlantic flights for few days’ vacation. Don’t rule out the fountains either; make sure to catch the splash of the Grandes Eaux on Sundays at 3.30pm from May through September.

Crowning of King William I of Prussia as German Kaiser, Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, Jan. 18, 1871; credit: Library of Congress.

To check your reflection in the famous Hall of Mirrors, we recommend springing for 20 Euro all-access pass with audioguide, which can be bought and printed out from the Versailles website.

To get there: The Paris Metro can get you as far as Pont de Sevres at the end of Metro line 9. From there, transfer to bus 171. Also, trains direct to Versailles Chantiers, which is a short walk to the palace, leave from Gare Montparnasse and take about 40 minutes’ travel time. Versailles is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 9am to 5pm.